Weather Radio

FEATURED ARTICLES ABOUT WEATHER RADIO - PAGE 2

START OF SEASON -- Start planning and preparing immediately. -- Gather supplies in advance to avoid last-minute rushes on hardware stores and markets. -- Learn the elevation of your area, and the flooding and storm surge history. -- Learn the location of shelters and evacuation routes. -- If you own a boat, determine where to move it. -- Check your insurance to be sure you have the coverage you want and need. Do this early in hurricane season; insurance companies may not issue new policies or change existing ones when a hurricane is active.

There doesn't seem to be enough time to do all the chores you have to do. And it may only get worse. A hurricane watch could become a hurricane warning within hours. If you prepared in advance, your job is going to be a lot easier. Those plans - especially those for people with disabilities or serious illnesses - should be put into action. Now. A hurricane watch activates emergency officials from the federal, state, county and city governments. It should get you going, too. A hurricane watch doesn't guarantee you will get hit by a hurricane, but the probability is getting uncomfortably high.

Just in time for hurricane season, the nearly 2 million Spanish-speaking people in Miami-Dade and Broward counties can get radio reports in Spanish of severe or stormy weather by tuning into a special station operated by the National Weather Service. “South Florida is home to a lot of people who primarily speak Spanish, and we'll be able to reach many more people by providing this service,” said Pablo Santos, meteorologist in charge of the Miami weather office. South Florida is the third metropolitan region behind San Diego, Calif., and El Paso, Texas, to have dedicated transmitters aimed specifically at Spanish-speaking residents.

Most never knew it was coming. When deadly tornado winds blasted through Central Florida early Friday, many residents, asleep at home, had no warning. Emergency officials worked to put better alert systems in place after 42 people were killed in a similar early morning storm of February 1998. Friday's toll made it apparent their efforts still had a ways to go. "We don't have a method to reach into every bedroom ... and tap everyone on the shoulder and tell them there's a tornado threat," said Dennis Decker, the warning-coordination meteorologist for the National Weather Service in Melbourne.

A hurricane watch doesn't necessarily mean a powerful storm will hit. Rather, it is an alert that hurricane conditions are possible within 48 hours. Still, it triggers emergency managers and government officials to put their hurricane plans in motion. And it should get you going, too. When a watch is announced, it's time to complete your preparations and closely monitor the storm by television, radio or weather radio. Here are National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration frequencies for weather broadcasts: Broward and Miami-Dade counties: 162.55 MHz; Eastern Palm Beach County: 162.475 MHz; Western Palm Beach County: 162.40 MHz; If a hurricane warning is issued, you most likely will feel a storm within 36 hours.

It's National Preparedness month, and Broward County's emergency management division is offering a training class for resident volunteers who want to join the nationwide SKYWARN Storm Spotters network. The class will be held Saturday, Sept. 22, at the Broward County Emergency Operations Center, 201 N.W. 84 Ave. in Plantation, from 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. with an hour lunch break at 1 p.m. SKYWARN weather spotters report weather and damage resulting from severe weather to the National Weather Service, which alerts the public through TV, marine and weather radio and law enforcement bulletins.

Pat Fitzsimmons said the purpose for the Take A Kid Fishing Rodeo Saturday is to promote fishing. The underlying reason for the freshwater tournament, scheduled at Tree Tops Park in Davie, is to promote positive avenues for the entertainment and education of youth. "I think most of us involved in the tournament would rather see a kid hooked on fishing than something like drugs," said Fitzsimmons, who founded and is co-sponsor of this tournament along with the Davie-based Bass`n Fools bass club and the town of Davie.

On May 20, we were reminded that natural disasters of all kinds can bring devastation on a massive scale. In just a few seconds, the lives of Moore, Okla. residents were changed by an EF5 tornado that destroyed entire buildings while injuring or killing residents as they took shelter. We can't prevent natural disasters, but we can prepare for them. By being ready and knowing what to do in a disaster, we can minimize risk, reduce the time it takes to recover and most importantly, prevent the loss of life.

Hurricane Bonnie reminds us that South Florida's perch on the Atlantic Ocean is a precarious place during hurricane season. It's important to know the terms used by government officials when a hurricane approaches our coastline. A hurricane watch activates government emergency managers. It should get you going, too. A hurricane watch doesn't guarantee you will get hit by a hurricane, but the probability is getting higher. Your chances of getting walloped are about one in four if you live along the edges of the watch area; one in three if you are in the center of the watch area.

When a hurricane watch is issued, the situration could quickly get worse -- the hurricane watch could become a warning within hours. When a watch is issued, it`s time to finish all preparations and quickly. All the plans you made earlier -- especially those for people with disabilities or serious illness -- should be activated. A hurricane watch doesn`t guarantee you will get hit by a hurricane, but the probability is getting uncomfortably high. Your chances of getting walloped are 1 in 4 if you live on the edges of the watch area, 1 in 3 if you`re in the center of the watch area.